


Trouble with Time Lords

by Pooky1234



Series: LongliveIanto series [8]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-14
Updated: 2011-07-18
Packaged: 2017-10-21 09:50:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/223844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pooky1234/pseuds/Pooky1234
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This the next part of my stories set in the ‘Time can be rewritten universe’. It is for the longliveinato bingo card challenge and this is loosely based on the prompt imprisonment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> We left the team still wondering about Ianto’s newly gained powers and about Cerys being a Time Lord. Uncertain about Cerys Ianto decides to find the Doctor but gets more than ……. This will be in 3 shortish parts.

Trouble with Time Lords – part 1

‘They’re back,’ Cy said into his comm as Jack and Ianto appeared back in the sick room. ‘And they’ve both got stupid grins on their faces and their hands all over each other.’

‘Have a nice time boys?’ Cy asked.

‘Yes, lovely thanks,’ Ianto replied still holding onto Jack. ‘Where’s Cerys?’

‘She’s in the cells. We didn’t know what to do with her and with everything she’s been claiming about herself and you not being here, we decided to err on the side of caution. Johnson put her in cell 2.’

‘Jack?’ Ianto questioned. Jack shrugged. ‘They may be right, Ianto. We don’t really know anything about her. She blagged her way in here and then changed. She could be an alien invader for all we know.’

‘We know she’s an alien, Jack,’ Ianto said somewhat irritated. ‘But she saved me and I don’t think she’s dangerous, even if she is a Time Lord. For one she has no real idea of what her powers are. Has she had any food?’ he asked being practical as always.

‘Not yet,’ Cy conceded.

‘Right I’ll get her some then and go and talk to her,’ Ianto said. He made coffee and sandwiches and went own to the cells. Cerys was sat on the bed staring at the ceiling. One of the weevils growled slightly as Ianto came past.

‘Calm down, Fred. I’ll get to you soon. Bloody hell do I have to do everything around here?’ he muttered.

‘Ianto,’ he heard Cerys shout.

‘Yeah it’s me. I’ve brought you some food.’ He opened the door securing it behind him and sat on the bed opposite.

‘Sorry about this,’ he said. ‘They’re just being a bit cautious. We’ve had people before claiming to be something they aren’t.’

‘I get it, Ianto but I’m not doing any good locked up in here am I? I need to contact the Doctor. My mother said that he would help me and looking where I am now, I need that help!’

‘I’ve thought about that,’ Ianto explained. ‘And I’m going to find the Doctor by thinking I want to be with him. Then I can tell him about you. Otherwise we’ve no idea how long it will take for him to appear and phoning Martha gets complicated as she works for UNIT.’

‘D’you think you’ll just be able to think yourself onto the TARDIS, Ianto? What if it’s too far away or in space and still moving?’

‘I don’t know. I guess I’ll just have to keep trying. Jack is going to come with me as well. After yesterday we know that I can move us both.’

‘I guess you two had a good time yesterday. How are you now?’ she asked.

‘Still getting used to it I suppose. I can still feel people’s emotions which can be distracting and I’ve still got the muttering but I do seem to be able to turn that off. Other than those and the jaunting I’m not sure.’

‘Jaunting?’

‘Oh yeah, there was this old kids programme and they could travel like I do; they called it jaunting so I’ve decided to call it that as well. It’s as good a label as anything’

‘When are you and Jack going to try to find the Doctor then? You probably should get some rest. You’ve been through a lot, Ianto.’

‘I know, I’m going to allow Cy to take some samples and then get some rest. Would you believe that Jack is coming around tonight to cook dinner and then we’re just going to watch TV on the sofa?’

‘So a bit of snuggling up together then?’ she asked.

‘Yeah,’ said Ianto grinning.

The next day at 10am they gathered in the Hub. Even Gwen was there, having left the baby with Rhys and come into see Ianto after the accident. Johnson had filled her in with the details. Ianto and Jack stood together, whilst Johnson, Cy and Gwen looked on.

‘Don’t worry Jack, we’ll manage,’ Johnson said. ‘Although, we could do with recruiting a couple more field agents.’

‘We’ll talk about that when we’re back,’ Jack said. ‘Now Ianto, try to think of the Doctor and the TARDIS and hopefully that’s where we’ll land but be prepared as you never know; things can get a bit timey wimey, wibbley wobbley as the doctor would say. We’ve no idea where we could end up.’

‘I know Jack; I’ve packed my stun gun. We’ll be fine so don’t be scared.’ He kissed his partner, took his hand and closed his eyes. He thought to himself. ‘Find the Doctor. Find the TARDIS. Take me to them.’

‘What the hell happened?’ Jack yelled as he felt Ianto’s hand wrenched from his and the young man disappeared.

‘You’re still here, Jack but Ianto’s gone,’ Cy said.

‘Why didn’t I go with him?’ Jack said anxiously. He pressed a few buttons on his wrist strap.

‘Well that’s not telling me anything. Where the hell is he?’ he asked.

The first thing Ianto realised when he materialised almost instantaneously was that Jack wasn’t with him. The second thing was that although he knew instinctively that he was in the TARDIS, it looked completely different to the one he’d been in when he was rescued from the 456. Lastly, the man with his back to him was larger and dressed differently from his Doctor. He was wearing a long coat and over one shoulder an incredibly long multi-coloured scarf. The figure turned, grinned rather maniacally and then spoke to him.

‘Would you like a jelly baby?’


	2. Chapter 2

Trouble with Time Lords – part 2

Ianto tried to move forward but found himself unable to do so. He felt all around him but he was unable to move in any direction. Effectively he was imprisoned in some sort of invisible force field.

'Sorry about that but the Old Girl has her defences and when a young man suddenly appears out of nowhere she takes action. Now, would you like a jelly baby?' Not wanting to be rude Ianto said, 'I'd love one.' He actually did like jelly babies anyway. The man held the bag through the force field and Ianto took a pink one.

'Ah, it's always interesting to see what colour people choose,' the man said without explaining further. Ianto wondered what pink indicated other than what some might see as the obvious, now he was with Jack. 'Right young man, would you like to explain to me who you are and why you're here.'

'My name is Ianto Jones and I work for Torchwood. I've come from the 21st century with a message for the Doctor. I'm hoping that this is the TARDIS and I've come to the right place.'

'Well, you've achieved your aim, Ianto Jones; this is indeed the TARDIS and I am the Doctor but your chances of getting out of that force field have lessened now that you have mentioned Torchwood. As far as I remember that particular organisation was set up in 1879 to catch me.'

'No, things have changed now since Torchwood 1 was destroyed. There's only Torchwood 2 and 3 now. I work for Captain Jack Harkness at Torchwood 3 based in Cardiff. He's met you several times and so have I, although not the same you, of course.'

'So how many am I up to now?' the Doctor asked.

'Am I allowed to tell you?' Ianto questioned. 'Won't that upset the timelines and things?' The Doctor laughed; it was a deep throated hearty laugh with all his teeth showing.

'No, I shouldn't think so. There's always the danger of bumping into myself. I've done that a few times. So who have you met then?'

'I've met the 11th version of you. He has your height but he looks a lot younger than you do. His hair is brown as well but straight not like yours. Jack's met numbers 9, 10 and 11.'

'Did you say Captain Jack Harkness? I'm sure I've heard that name mentioned by the Brigadier.'

'Would that be Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart?' Ianto asked.

'Yes it would; he works for UNIT. I know him very well.'

'I'm familiar with UNIT – the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, although they aren't very keen on Jack.' Ianto smiled; Jack was certainly not on UNIT's Christmas card list!

'No, but I seem to remember him being keen on some of them; Sergeant Benton in particular as I recall.' Ianto laughed. 'Yep, that sounds like my Jack.' The Doctor noted the my and raised an eyebrow.

'So young man back to business you still haven't answered my questions about why you're here. I assume there must be some reason. You've also not explained how you managed to get in here either.'

'A couple of days ago myself and Cerys, our newest recruit, were bringing an alien artefact back from Scotland. We had an accident; the artefact was activated and I was exposed to it. Jack says it was an empathetic excelerator.'

'Ah, yes, used by the Betazoids. But that can have side effects,' the Doctor said.

'Yes I know; I have empathetic abilities now; I can sense people's feelings, and I can also jaunt.'

'Jaunt?'

'Yes, I can move through space. I just think where I want to be and I appear there – like this. Although, I have to say that I was expecting Jack to be here too.'

'Hmm, I suspect you'll only be able to travel great distances on your own,' the Doctor explained. 'Or perhaps you weren't specific enough in your thoughts. You said you were in the accident with someone else. Does she have similar problems or is she alright?'

'We think she's fine. It's Cerys I'm here about actually. She's made certain claims about herself and she wanted to meet you. It seems that she's like you; she says that she's a Time Lord or would that be Time Lady?'

The Doctor stared at him intently as if he was trying to take in the news. 'What, boy? What did you say? There are no Time Lords by the 21st century. I've travelled that far in time and something happened. I've never really investigated or wanted to know. Some things just have to be left alone to happen on their own.'

'We know that which is why we needed to contact you. I expected to find the 11th version of you. I don't actually know which Doctor you are.'

'I'm the 4th regeneration and certainly the most handsome and intelligent. Now this Cerys who does she say she is?'

'Her name is Cerys Murphy. She was brought up on Earth by foster parents; she had no idea that they weren't her real parents until after her mother died. She was left certain papers which told her that her mother was in fact a Time Lord called Romana.'

'What! That's impossible. Romana was trapped in E-Space. This girl must be lying.'

'Well, she has two hearts and she has a sonic screwdriver. She claims they were in the package left to her. Romana told her to contact the Doctor and that you'd help her. She got into Torchwood so that she could find you. I believe her but at the moment she's locked up until we can prove she is who she says she is. We don't want another Master on our hands.'

'Hmmmm, him again – no don't tell me – timelines and all that.'

'Do you think that there's any chance you could let me out of here. I think the travelling has made me a bit ….' With that he collapsed.

'Oh dear,' the Doctor said. 'Why do they do that?'

When he came around Ianto was lying on a sort of couch. He noticed a cup of tea on the table next to him. He swung his legs around and picked up the cup. The drink tasted unusual but it perked him up immensely.

'Ah, you're awake. I've programmed the TARDIS to take me to Cardiff in 2011 but I need an exact date.' Ianto gave him the details. 'And this will land me into the Hub?' the Doctor asked.

'Yes, and you'll be able to refuel from the rift.'

'I'm aware of that thank you. It shouldn't be long now.'

Ianto heard the familiar noise that the TARDIS made when landing. 'You know you're parking with the brakes on don't you? River told me that you always do that,' Ianto commented.

'River?' the Doctor questioned.

'Sorry, spoilers as she would say,' Ianto explained. 'Can you get the scanner to work?'

'Yes of course; I do know how to operate this ship you know. The scanner only doesn't work when the TARDIS is invisible.' He flicked a switch. 'Ah it seems we have a welcoming committee. I'm assuming that the angry looking man in the RAF coat is your Captain.'

'Yes that's him. He'll be worried about me. The others are Cy Howell, our medic, Jenny Johnson and Gwen Cooper.' Ianto noted that all of them had guns pointed at the TARDIS door. Jack was obviously taking no chances.

'Perhaps you'd like to go first, Ianto. I wouldn't want them to shoot me.'

Ianto opened the door. Immediately Jack grabbed him, pulled him close and kissed him. The Doctor stood in the doorway whistling quietly to himself. He took a couple of jelly babies out of his pocket and chewed slowly waiting for them to notice him. Ianto pulled himself away from Jack, who was doing his own version of checking him over for damage; he was being rather too thorough considering that they had company.

'I'm fine, Jack. Its okay, I found the Doctor just not the same one. I guess I just landed on the nearest TARDIS. This is the Doctor.' The man at the door waved at them and grinned.

'Yes, that's me.' He moved forward with hand outstretched towards Jack. 'I guess you're Captain Jack Harkness. I'm surprised we've never met, knowing your predicament. I've heard of you, of course. The Brigadier and Sergeant Benton had a few things to say about you.' He winked as he spoke.

'Ah Sergeant Benton,' Jack said wistfully. Ianto gave him a hard stare. 'Oh come on, Ianto it was years ago and to be honest my magic never worked on him, although I admit I did try.'

'So back to our current problem I believe you have someone who is claiming to be Romana's daughter locked up in your cells. Right we'd better get her up here then so I can meet her. This should be interesting.' He sat on a chair, crossed his arms and legs and waited for the others to move.


	3. Part 3

Trouble with Time Lords – part 3

 

‘Johnson, could you bring Cerys up here for me?’ Jack asked. ‘We’ll meet in the boardroom; that’s upstairs, Doctor. Ianto, would you ….’

‘Yes, I know coffee for everyone.’ The Doctor went to speak. ‘It’s alright, Doctor I know you prefer tea. I’ll order pizzas if that’s alright.’ Ianto went off to the coffee machine. Ten minutes later he handed out the drinks as everyone sat around the table. He took his place next to Jack and opposite Cerys, who was looking around nervously. The Doctor sat at the other end of the table waiting and sipping his tea.

‘So,’ he began leaning forward and placing his head on his hands. ‘You’re Cerys Murphy and you claim to be Romana’s daughter. I should warn you that I travelled with Romana so if this is some sort of clever scam I’ll know. As far as I know Romana was trapped in E-Space.’

‘I know all this, Doctor,’ Cerys said. ‘It was in the information my mother left me. There was a war going on. Romana married and had me but she wanted me safe. Somehow she found a way – there’s information about how but I didn’t really understand it all. The documents are in my bag but I don’t know where that is.’

‘Those documents are important. Could I have them please?’ the Doctor commanded. Johnson got up and went to retrieve the information while Ianto went to collect the pizzas from the tourist office.

Jack picked up a slice of pizza and bit into it. ‘Ah I never could resist as meat feast.’ Cy spluttered his food all over the table as Ianto blushed a delicate shade of pink.

The Doctor however, took the comment in his stride. ‘Yes Captain, I had heard that! Returning to the subject these documents are in High Gallfreyan and they are indeed from Romana. It seems you are what you claim to be. Although you’re only half Time Lord your body seems to have the ability to regenerate. The Captain said you also have a sonic screwdriver. May I see it please?’

‘It should be in my bag,’ Cerys explained.

‘Would you look, my dear? I know what women’s bags can be like.’ Cerys searched and found what she was looking for. It was passed to the Doctor. He examined it carefully and then he grinned.

‘This is indeed Romana’s; blue always was her favourite colour. I’ve always preferred green myself.’ He gave it back to Cerys.

‘So Captain, I think we can say that Cerys is who she claims she is and you, young lady have some decisions to make. I could take you to Gallifrey, although I’m not exactly welcome there at the moment. I could take you to a time when your mother was alive but that could punch a hole in the space/time continuum. You could, of course, choose to travel with me if you wanted or you could just stay here and live your life or in your case lives. I can’t tell you what to do. You are my equal – a Time Lord like myself, and I’m just a madman with a box, always moving on.’ Jack made a noise at that comment and turned it into a cough.

‘Yes Captain, I guess you would know a bit about that. I know that your immortality is something to do with me. I believe that you’ve met future regenerations on several occasions.’

‘Yes I have but I don’t think we should discuss details or you might try to change things. Cerys, what do you want to do. All of space and time is your playground!’

Cerys looked at all of them but her eyes lingered on Cy longer than the others. ‘If I stay can I work here? I am a computer expert as well as the rest and I could be very useful. There are, however, some questions I’d like you to answer, Doctor. Firstly, I know I can regenerate but can I die?’

‘Yes, you can if your regeneration is interrupted, otherwise you’ll live a long time. I’m over 850 years old now. There are other disadvantages of living a long life as I’m sure the Captain here could tell you.’ Ianto looked at the table; he knew as well what those disadvantages were.

‘Any other questions, my dear?’

‘Just one really. Could I really grow a TARDIS of my own from the coral on the Captain’s desk?’

‘Well, hmmm, yes I suppose it’s possible. You’d then have to build up the technology around the centre, but that should be within your capabilities. However, I would suggest you wait and travel with me for a bit. My Old Girl will show you the ropes if you need to learn them.

‘Thank you, Doctor. I like being who I am very much, although I have to say that it’s going to take me a while to get used to this new body.’

‘The teeth are always the worst,’ the Doctor agreed. ‘And you got to be ginger.’ He turned to Jack. ‘Tell me Captain, am I ginger any of the times that you’ve met me?’

‘No Doctor, nine had short dark hair, ten had great hair but dark and floppy and eleven ……’

‘No’ the Doctor said holding up his hand. ‘Let me find out for myself. Now I must go before something happens. Wherever I am something usually happens. I will be back to keep an eye on you Cerys and I will make sure that no-one interrupts your timeline so your life will always happen like this. Look after her Captain. Mr Jones, I need a word with you back in the TARDIS if I may.’ Ianto looked at Jack with a puzzled expression.

‘Of course, Doctor.’ Jack shrugged his shoulders.

Back in the TARDIS the Doctor ran his sonic screwdriver over Ianto and then placed it into a monitor. All sorts of charts and graphs flickered across the screen.

‘Tell me Mr Jones, have you had any injuries since the crash which I have to say doesn’t appear to have left you with any marks.’

‘No, Cerys protected me.’

‘But you’d have expected to get a few bruises from the crash.’

‘I suppose so. I thought I had but now I’m not so sure. Why what’s wrong?’ Abruptly the Doctor grabbed his and ran the screwdriver across the back. Ianto watched as a cut appeared and blood began to seep out. However, almost as quickly the wound began to seal itself. Ianto watched fascinated as the Doctor wiped the blood away, revealing an unblemished surface on the back of his hand.

‘Well Mr Jones, this is interesting. You know the excelerator has side effects.’

‘Yes I know, the jaunting, but I don’t understand; what does this mean?’ The Doctor ran his screwdriver from head to foot again.

‘It would seem from these readings, Ianto Jones that you are now immortal and that your body will repair any injuries.’

Ianto tried hard to take in what the Doctor had said. ‘I can’t be immortal. You don’t understand what this means, Doctor. I’m sorry I’ve got to see Jack.’ Ianto was already stumbling out of the TARDIS door as the Doctor went to speak again.

‘Oh well, I guess you’ll have to find out for yourself about the little something that happens at Christmas!’ he said. He pulled a lever and the TARDIS disappeared


End file.
